(Adds closing figures, details and comments)
* Canadian dollar at C$1.2626 or 79.20 U.S. cents
* Bond prices mostly higher across the maturity curve
By Solarina Ho
TORONTO, April 1 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar
strengthened against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday following a
more than four percent rise in crude prices and a
weaker-than-expected report on U.S. jobs.
The price of crude, a major Canadian export, surged after
data showed U.S. crude output fell for the first time in two
months and weekly stockpiles rose less than expected.
Ken Wills, currency strategist and broker at CanadianForex,
said the currency's moves faded a little toward the end of the
session, however, as markets began to position themselves ahead
of the Easter long weekend in Canada, Europe and many parts of
the United States.
Also helping the currency was ADP data that showed U.S.
private employers added 189,000 jobs in March, lower than the
225,000 expected. The report, coming before Friday's U.S.
government employment figures for March, helped push the U.S.
dollar lower.
"It was a pretty significant miss. That very well could have
people second guessing the bets that they placed for the
non-farm payroll on Friday," said Wills. He said it would not be
surprising if forecasts adjust lower before Friday as a result.
"I'm concerned that if it's very far off the mark, we could
very well have some erratic moves and a bit of a surprise when
we come back in (from holiday Good Friday) on Monday."
The Canadian dollar finished at C$1.2626 to the
greenback, or 79.20 U.S. cents, firmer than Tuesday's close of
C$1.2666, or 78.95 U.S. cents.
Domestically, data showed Canadian manufacturing activity -
a notable economic bellwether - shrank for a second month in
March. The RBC Canadian Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' index
(PMI), a measure of manufacturing business conditions, was at
48.9, against February's 48.7. A reading below 50 shows a
contraction.
Canadian government bond prices were mostly higher across
the maturity curve, with the two-year rising half a
Canadian cent to yield 0.493 percent and the benchmark 10-year
climbing 40 Canadian cents to yield 1.316 percent.
(Editing by Bernadette Baum and Grant McCool)